The word on the street is a 50% jump in rent was to blame for effectively chasing Diesel from their 400 Castro Street location at the corner of Market. And if a plugged-in tipster is correct, Apple has their sights set on the space with plans to develop the old Bank of America building into an iconic Apple Store which would be the fourth in San Francisco.
As Apple hasn’t commented, we’ll have to consider it a rumor for now.UPDATE (1/30):Apple Rumor Busted But In Part Confirmed As Well.

Comments from “Plugged-In” Readers

since when does 137 billion in cash and cash equivalents equal financial woes? i wish i had problems like that. it main be as white hot as it was a year or so ago, but it’s not going anywhere, anytime soon

I think what Mark was referring to was the fact that Apple’s stock price is down 23% over the last six months, but as oscar points out, Apple doesn’t have any “financial woes”; they could pay the salaries of everybody who works for the company for the next several years just out of the amount they have in cash with no new revenues coming in.
Last time I looked at their 10-Q filing, during the summer of last year, $81.4 billion of their cash pile was NOT held in foreign countries.

I don’t get why Apple needs so many stores in SF. I visit clothing stores 3-4 times a year, but an electronics store perhaps once every 5 years. And I buy clothes for largely utilitarian reasons!
The Apple fan club must require minimum quarterly purchases or something.

“I really hope they revive the old rainbow-colored Apple logo…”
Holy retro trademarks Batman! That’s a great idea.
And anyone who things Apple is secretive (they are) wait until you deal with Intel. They make the NSA look like like gossips.

As the Diesel store is formula retail already, Apple or any other ‘Chain store’ will have an easier time moving in. The owner of this building must be extremely greedy as they have jacked up the rents on multiple businesses. Anyone recall the Noah’s Bagel’s that used to be on the lower floor?

Many neighborhoods in the city claim to be “anti-chain,” but just take a look around, the obvious chains (Starbucks) aside. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but when rents are sky high and the chains are having a tough time making it you might as well forget about the independents.

My thoughts… There are a few “don’t put another chain-store here!” posts, but no suggestions what would work in this place. That annoys me. Don’t complain about it unless you have a better idea what would be successful in this location. High-end retail is out… Not a good location for a high-end restaurant… A club/bar? That’s a quick way to lose your shirt.
Who owns the property? Is it that same dude that owns everything else that he keeps intentionally vacant? Long time landlords don’t have to rent out these properties because their tax base is so low. An acquaintance of mine had a small business on Divis for years until the landlord decided to double his rent… He shut down and moved to Marin. The shop has now been vacant for over two years. I’d rather an Apple store than nothing…

Although I’m a big fan of Apple products, I hope it doesn’t become an Apple store. I don’t think the added foot traffic for it would add to the neighborhood as a whole. I’d rather see an Apple store displace the bizarrely located Pottery Barn.
What I’d love to see there is a cafe with lots of outdoor seating. That’s something the ‘hood sorely needs. That corner near the MUNI entrance would become the best people watching spot in the Castro.

Long time landlords don’t have to rent out these properties because their tax base is so low. An acquaintance of mine had a small business on Divis for years until the landlord decided to double his rent…He shut down and moved to Marin. The shop has now been vacant for over two years.

Yet another compelling argument for stripping the benefits of Prop. 13 from commercial properties and only applying it to residential ones.
If we had a creative board of supervisors, they’d figure out some way to combat this phenomenon. If I were on the Board, I’d take advantage of the Kelo v. City of New London world we’re in and draft legislation that would enable the City Administrator’s Office to seize properties that were sitting vacant for a long period due to landlord rapacity and re-sell them to landlords who would rent them out, under stepped-up tax basis/assessment terms.

I don’t really get it: at least with residential properties, I can see why landlords would leave them empty if they had other plans or thought rents would rise, since they wouldn’t be able to back out later. But commercial? Surely some rent is better than no rent, regardless of the tax. Are they too rich and lazy to care?

I am curious if the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association will be opposed to a possible Apple store in this location since they have adopted new guidelines opposing “formula retail” in the castro area.

Apple is not stupid. Every Apple store I have been in (and that’s a few) has been full and lively from day 1. They know their customers and they understand their foot traffic. This is not a “chain” store in the usual sense of the word. Be calm, all will be well.

“But commercial? Surely some rent is better than no rent…”
I think that the main issue is that commercial leases are usually long term: 10-20 years. So it could be worthwhile for the landlord to wait for a tenant willing to pay a premium for rent.
————————“The original Apple logo was not the ROYGBIV rainbow, so it would not make sense to use it here.”
I think that would only matter to the most persnickety of people. The old logo is what it is and the similarity to the rainbow won’t be lost on most people.

Too small for Trader Joes, and impossible to load in. Not to mention it has no parking, which I’m certain is a pre-condition for Trader Joes.
Re: ownership. It used to be owned by Lurie. I don’t know if that’s still the case. But it’s not owned by “same dude that owns everything else”. That’s Les Natali. He owns at least two successful bars (Badlands and Toad Hall), and keeps the old Patio Cafe and an adjacent retail space vacant. I assume not ONLY because of Prop 13, but also because he has cash flow from the bars. It’s a free country, but it is a ridiculous situation. Is it going on 20 years that the Patio has been vacant?

I don’t understand the negativity about this. An Apple store would be the best thing in the world for that corner. It would anchor some more nice stores and upgrade the general look of the street. If other city plans move ahead, the streetscape is going to be improved with trees, as well. Castro could become an attractive destination for shopping, restaurants, and bars, not just a site for tourists to gawk at all the gay people.

This could be a great thing for the Castro. Some may say it’s too “commercial” for the area, but to each their own. An Apple store would be a fantastic anchor, plus Apple has been known to put money into the surrounding area (ie: Lincoln Park store in Chicago). Maybe the Castro Business district could talk Apple into giving some money to the Castro Redevelopment plans. This could be a huge way to make Castro St. more pleasurable on the eye.

I was kidding about the Trader Joe’s. They had a perfectly acceptable spot on Market Street a couple of years back but the NIMBYs rejected it. Of course, this would be a less practical spot. Still, as someone who lives in the neighborhood, it would be nice to have some services for actual residents of the area.

I’m losing count of the vacant commercial space in the neighborhood formerly called Castro. It’s 8 or 9, and more of a dozen if you go up Market St. a block. Hope somebody buys the 200+ condos going up in the same area.

Bring it on. The street is already scheduled to be more pedestrian-friendly and this will greatly help. Of course this corner would be the perfect place for a lavish sidewalk Cafe/Brasserie and rooftop seating. But this the Parisian in me talking.

I assure you that Apple has gobs of data on where their products are being shipped to. If they have selected this location, it’s because there are a lot of products being shipped near by. It’s just smart business practice to understand your customers and try to meet their needs (and wants) including location and access.

Castro Biscuit has an update on the story.
Apparently, their source spoke with someone from the leasing company of the location, Apple is not interested in the space because it is too small.
Looks like another empty building in the Castro. Sad, it’s such a pretty building.